JP3668835B2 - In-vehicle device for automatic toll collection system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an on-board device for an automatic fee collection system, and more particularly to an on-vehicle device for an automatic fee collection system mounted on a vehicle that exchanges information such as toll collection.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a toll facility collects a usage fee. For example, a moving body such as a vehicle traveling on a toll road is charged according to the vehicle type and the travel distance on the toll road. A road-to-vehicle communication device that automatically collects charges at the entrance gate and exit gate of a toll road by radio wave communication is known as an apparatus that automatically collects the usage fee of the toll facility. In this road-to-vehicle communication device, a communication device that transmits and receives radio waves (hereinafter referred to as a road machine) is arranged on the road side as an interrogator for inquiring information to the corresponding vehicle, and a response to an inquiry from this road machine. A communication device (hereinafter referred to as an in-vehicle device) that performs the above operation from the vehicle side is installed in the vehicle, and information is exchanged between the in-vehicle device and the road device by radio wave communication.
[0003]
Moreover, as an example of such an on-board device for an automatic fee collection system, there is one disclosed in JP-A-8-297758. In this on-vehicle device for an automatic fee collection system, as shown in FIG. By providing an in-vehicle device 152 into which the IC card 150 is inserted in the indoor mirror 154, an in-vehicle device for an automatic toll collection system that is easy to use without obstructing the field of view is provided.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in this in-vehicle device for the automatic toll collection system, as shown in FIG. 9, both the in-vehicle device antenna 154 and the in-vehicle device body 156 constituting the in-vehicle device 152 are located in front of the mirror body 158 in the indoor mirror 154. It is arranged on the side. As a result, although the in-vehicle device antenna 154 is disposed in a portion where radio waves are easily transmitted and received and the transmission / reception performance is improved, the in-vehicle device main body 156 equipped with the electrical components is exposed to direct sunlight through the windshield glass. Therefore, the deterioration of the electrical component is accelerated and the durability performance is lowered. For this reason, in this in-vehicle device for an automatic toll collection system, it is difficult to achieve both the transmission / reception performance of the in-vehicle device antenna 154 and the durability performance of the in-vehicle device body 156.
[0005]
The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle device for an automatic toll collection system that can achieve both the transmission / reception performance of the in-vehicle device antenna and the durability performance of the in-vehicle device body. is there.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The in-vehicle device for an automatic toll collection system according to the first aspect of the present invention includes: an in-vehicle device antenna that transmits and receives radio waves to and from a roadside antenna and is fixed to a stay of an indoor mirror ;
The vehicle-mounted device main body, which is a separate body from the vehicle-mounted device antenna, and is disposed in an openable glasses holder ,
It is characterized by having.
[0007]
Therefore, in the vehicle-mounted device, the vehicle-mounted device antenna and the vehicle-mounted device main body are separated, the vehicle-mounted device antenna is fixed to the stay of the indoor mirror, and the vehicle-mounted device main body is disposed in the openable eyeglass holder. Both the in-vehicle device antenna and the in-vehicle device body are optimally arranged. As a result, the transmission / reception performance of the vehicle-mounted device antenna and the durability performance of the vehicle-mounted device main body can be compatible. Even if the angle of the interior mirror body is adjusted, the stay to which the vehicle-mounted device antenna is fixed does not move, and the directivity of the vehicle-mounted device antenna is not affected. As a result, the angle of the interior mirror body can be adjusted as usual. In addition, the information card can be attached to and detached from the in-vehicle device body when the open / close type eyeglass holder is in the open position, and the information attached to the information card insertion portion when the eyeglass holder is in the closed position. Because the card is not visible from the outside, it is excellent in crime prevention.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of an in-vehicle device for an automatic fee collection system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0017]
In the figure, the arrow FR indicates the vehicle forward direction, and the arrow UP indicates the vehicle upward direction.
[0018]
The present embodiment is an in-vehicle device for an automatic toll collection system that is used in an automatic charging system that automatically performs charging processing by road-to-vehicle communication between an on-vehicle device and a road device. Note that the automatic charging system used in the present embodiment is a vehicle that performs radio wave communication between an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle and a road device having an antenna installed on the ground side of the gate and the route. Is a system to settle tolls etc. without stopping. In addition, as ground-side equipment for exchanging various types of information with the vehicle-mounted device that can be applied to the present embodiment, the entrance gate of the toll road, the intermediate route immediately before or immediately after the branch point, and the exit gate, respectively A road machine is installed. In this embodiment, the exit gate will be described as an example.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 7, the exit gate 100 constituting the road unit includes a road unit including an arch 104 having an exit antenna 102 formed of a flat antenna and an exit antenna control device 106 connected to the exit antenna 102. is set up. The exit antenna control device 106 is arranged in a so-called separation island 108 called so-called Toll Island, and the exit antenna control device 106 mounts the toll road exit gate information and toll information on the vehicle 110 via the exit antenna 102. Communicating with the in-vehicle device 10 by radio wave communication.
[0020]
In the exit antenna control device 106, a booth is provided so that an automatic ticket issuing device, an automatic toll collection device, and an operator can be located in order to pay a toll by hand payment.
[0021]
The exit gate 100 has one lane 112, which is formed between the separation band 114 and the separation band 108. An arch 104 is disposed from the separation band 114 to the separation band 108 so as to straddle the lane 112, and the exit antenna 102 is attached on the arch 104 so as to be located immediately above the lane 112. The exit antenna 102 is for exchanging information with respect to a vehicle traveling on the lane 112.
[0022]
A vehicle type discriminating device 116 necessary for toll collection is provided on the separation band 114, and a camera 118 for photographing the vehicle is installed on the separation band 108 on the downstream side of the arch 104. . This camera 118 is for photographing the vehicle when the communication between the roadside device and the vehicle-mounted device is poor, or when the charging process is incomplete.
[0023]
The exit antenna 102 is an antenna for communication (transmission / reception) with an in-vehicle device, which is composed of a flat antenna, and the lane 112 can communicate with the vehicle regardless of the position of the lane 112. A communication area covering the length in the width direction is set. In addition, since a road machine is a known structure, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. Moreover, the road machines installed in the entrance gate, the midway route, and the like have the same configuration as the exit gate, and can be connected to a central computer (not shown). By connecting each roadside machine to a central computer (not shown), information on vehicles entering the toll road, route information indicating the route the vehicle has traveled, and that the vehicle has been charged It is now possible to manage the tollgate information that is represented centrally.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 6, an in-vehicle device for an automatic toll collection system (hereinafter referred to as “on-vehicle device”) 10 for communicating with a road device is a well-known configuration including an on-vehicle device control unit 22 and a display / IC card insertion unit 28. Vehicle-mounted device main body 30 and a vehicle-mounted device antenna (hereinafter referred to as an antenna) 32.
[0025]
The in-vehicle device control unit 22 includes a receiving unit 12 in charge of a communication function with the outside, a high frequency unit 22A having a transmission unit 14 and a demodulation unit 16, a processing unit 18 in charge of main functions such as signal processing, and a security module. And a processing unit 22B having a unit 20. The display / IC card insertion unit 28 includes a human machine interface unit 24 and an IC card interface unit 26. The human machine interface unit 24 includes a display device such as an LCD, an operation switch, and the like. In addition, an IC card 34 as an information card storing billing information and the like can be attached to and detached from the IC card interface unit 26. In addition to the IC card 34, the information card includes an LSI card, a prepaid card, a credit card, and the like that can read and write information.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 4, the display device 36 is for displaying the charging history and the like, and is a device for displaying the status of the accounting process, the accounting amount, and the current processing status. The operation switch 38 is an operation switch for switching display contents of the display device, and can be switched to a personal authentication information input mode when inputting personal authentication information.
[0027]
As shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, the antenna 32 and the in-vehicle device main body 30 are separated from each other, and an antenna unit 40 having the antenna 32 built therein, and a control unit 42 having the in-vehicle device control unit 22 incorporated therein, Are connected by an antenna wire 44 made of a coaxial cable. In addition, a display / IC card insertion unit 46 incorporating the display / IC card insertion unit 28 and a control unit 42 are connected by a relay wire harness 48, and the control unit 42 is powered by a vehicle power connection wire harness 50. (Not shown).
[0028]
As shown in FIG. 2, the antenna unit 40 is fixed to a part of a vehicle body that easily transmits and receives radio waves to and from the roadside antenna, for example, a stay 54 of the indoor mirror 52. The angle of the stay 54 is attached to be adjustable. Specifically, a triangular mounting stay cover 58 is mounted in a triangular mounting recess 56 formed in the vehicle body front upper side portion 54 </ b> A of the stay 54, and the locking claw formed on the upper surface of the mounting stay cover 58. The antenna case 60 is locked to 58A. An antenna substrate 62 having an antenna 32 is disposed inside the antenna case 60.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 1, the stay 54 is fixed to a roof header 66 disposed along the vehicle width direction via a mounting bracket 64, and a roof 68 has a front joint flange 66 </ b> A attached to a roof 68. The front end edge portion 68A is welded. The mounting angle of the antenna substrate 62 can be adjusted, and is mounted so as to be substantially parallel to the front shield glass 70. The antenna wire 44 is guided to a portion below the roof header 66 through an insertion portion 72 formed in the stay 54.
[0030]
As shown in FIG. 4, an overhead console 76 is disposed at a portion of the vehicle interior ceiling 74 that is behind the vehicle of the interior mirror 52, and a glasses holder 78 is formed at the front portion of the overhead console 76. ing.
[0031]
As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 42 is fixed to the upper wall portion 80A of the concave portion 80 of the glasses holder 78 by a fixing member 82 such as a screw, and a notch 84 formed at the front portion of the upper wall portion 80A is formed. The connector 44A of the antenna wire 44 is connected to the high frequency part 22A. A processing unit 22B is disposed below the high frequency unit 22A.
[0032]
The door portion 86 of the glasses holder 78 is rotatable about the rotation shaft 86A in the front lower side of the vehicle body (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1) and in the opposite direction. The closed position indicated by the solid line in FIG. It can move to the open position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Further, the door 86 is provided with a display / IC card insertion unit 28 including a human machine interface unit 24 having a display device 36 and an operation switch 38 and an IC card interface unit 26.
[0033]
As shown in FIG. 4, when the door portion 86 of the glasses holder 78 is in the closed position, the display device 36 and the operation switch 38 disposed on the surface 86B of the door portion 86 are on the passenger side, As shown in FIG. 3, when the door portion 86 of the glasses holder 78 is in the open position, the IC card insertion port 88 disposed on the back surface 86 </ b> C of the door portion 86 is on the occupant side, and the IC card interface portion 26 The IC card 34 can be attached and detached. With this configuration, when the door portion 86 of the eyeglass holder 78 is in the closed position, since the IC card 34 is not visible from the outside, it is excellent in crime prevention.
[0034]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
[0035]
In the present embodiment, communication is performed between the vehicle-mounted device 10 attached to the vehicle 110 and the road device, and charging processing is performed based on the ID code, the vehicle type, and the charge balance information of the vehicle-mounted device 10. At this time, in the present embodiment, the antenna 32 and the vehicle-mounted device main body 30 in the vehicle-mounted device 10 attached to the vehicle 110 are separated, and the stay 54 of the indoor mirror 52 that easily transmits and receives radio waves between the antenna 32 and the roadside antenna. Since the in-vehicle device body 30 is disposed in the glasses holder 78 disposed in the vehicle interior ceiling 74 and is not exposed to direct sunlight, both the antenna 32 and the in-vehicle device body 30 are optimally disposed. Become. As a result, the transmission / reception performance of the antenna 32 and the durability performance of the in-vehicle device body 30 can be compatible.
[0036]
In the present embodiment, since the antenna 32 is fixed to the stay 54 of the indoor mirror 52, the stay 54 to which the antenna 32 is fixed does not move even if the angle of the mirror main body 55 is adjusted. Does not affect the directivity. As a result, the angle of the mirror main body 55 can be adjusted as usual, and the usability of the indoor mirror 52 is good.
[0037]
Moreover, in this embodiment, since the antenna 32 and the vehicle equipment main body 30 are approaching each other, the antenna line 44 can be shortened. As a result, signal loss in the antenna line 44 connecting the antenna 32 and the in-vehicle device main body 30 can be minimized. Further, since the in-vehicle device main body 30 is near the passenger, the display is easy to see and the operation is easy.
[0038]
In the present embodiment, since the in-vehicle device body 30 is disposed in the glasses holder 78 of the overhead console 76, the mounting work of the in-vehicle device body 30 on the glasses holder 78 can be performed with the overhead console 76 removed from the vehicle body. Since it can be done, assembly workability is good. Further, by disposing the in-vehicle device main body 30 in the glasses holder 78 of the overhead console 76, there is no change in the interior design after mounting.
[0039]
Although the present invention has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various other embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, in the present embodiment, the vehicle-mounted device antenna 32 is disposed on the stay 54 of the indoor mirror 52 and the vehicle-mounted device main body 30 is disposed in the glasses holder 78 disposed on the vehicle interior ceiling 74. The arrangement positions of the antenna 32 for the vehicle and the in-vehicle device main body 30 are not limited to these parts, as long as they are parts of the vehicle body that easily transmit and receive radio waves to and from the roadside antenna and parts of the vehicle body that are not exposed to direct sunlight. Other parts may be used. For example, the antenna 32 is directly fixed to the side of the front shield glass 70 in the interior of the vehicle interior, in particular, the side of the interior of the light shielding film 90 disposed on the top of the front shield glass 70, and the vehicle is in the vicinity thereof. The in-vehicle device main body 30 may be disposed in the indoor ceiling portion 74.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
The in-vehicle device for an automatic toll collection system according to the first aspect of the present invention has an excellent effect that both the transmission / reception performance of the in-vehicle device antenna and the durability performance of the in-vehicle device body can be achieved. In addition, the angle adjustment of the interior mirror body does not affect the directivity of the on-vehicle device antenna, and the angle adjustment of the interior mirror body can be performed as usual. Moreover, it has the outstanding effect that it is excellent in crime prevention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an in-vehicle device for an automatic fee collection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the vehicle-mounted device antenna of the vehicle-mounted device for the automatic toll collection system according to the embodiment of the present invention as seen from the obliquely front side of the vehicle.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the in-vehicle device body of the in-vehicle device for the automatic toll collection system according to the embodiment of the present invention as seen from the obliquely rearward side of the vehicle.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the in-vehicle device body of the in-vehicle device for the automatic toll collection system according to the embodiment of the present invention as seen from the obliquely rear side of the vehicle.
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing an in-vehicle device for an automatic fee collection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an in-vehicle device for an automatic fee collection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing an automatic fee collection system.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a conventional in-vehicle device for an automatic fee collection system.
FIG. 9 is a side sectional view showing a conventional in-vehicle device for an automatic toll collection system.
[Explanation of symbols]
10. In-vehicle device 30 for automatic toll collection system In-vehicle device body 32 In-vehicle device antenna 34 IC card (information card)
44 Antenna line 52 Indoor mirror 54 Indoor mirror stay 74 Car interior ceiling 76 Overhead console 78 Glasses holder

Claims (1)

An in-vehicle antenna that transmits and receives radio waves to and from the roadside antenna and is fixed to the stay of the indoor mirror ;
An in-vehicle device body that is separate from the in-vehicle device antenna and is disposed in an openable glasses holder ;
An in-vehicle device for an automatic toll collection system characterized by comprising:

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